Synthesis and evaluation of new magneto-fluorescent carbon dot based on manganese citrate for MRI imaging.

OBJECTIVE: Medical imaging techniques have widely revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of various health conditions. Among these techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has stood out as a noninvasive and versatile tool. Now, a breakthrough innovation called "manganese-carbon dots" is poised to enhance MRI imaging and provide physicians with even greater insight into the human body. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, one-pot hydrothermal method was used to fabricate magneto-fluorescent carbon quantum dots using manganese citrate, urea, and Mn2+. Manganese citrateAQ3 acted as a carbon source and contrast agent. TEM,XPS, FTIR, UV-Vis, fluorescent analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of magneto-fluorescent carbon quantum dots. The MTT assay was used to study its biocompatiblity, Finallay application of itscompound for mri imaging was investigated. RESULTS: Characterization Techniques confirmed the succesful synthesis of product. MTT assay showed no toxicity of this product on HEK-293 cells. In addition, it exhibited high r1 relaxivity (7.4 mM-1 S-1) suggesting excellent potential of magneto-fluorescent carbon quantum dots as MRI T1 contrast agent and enabling specific imaging. CONCLUSION: Based on the results obtained, the synthesized carbon quantum dots could be used as fluorescence/MRI bimodal platform for in vivo imaging.

Detection of Dopamine Receptors Using Nanoscale Dendrimer for Potential Application in Targeted Delivery and Whole-Body Imaging: Synthesis and In Vivo Organ Distribution.

Dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters released by neurons in the central nervous system, and a variety of neurological illnesses and mental disorders are associated with impairments in the secretion and functionality of dopamine. Dopamine, depending on the type of receptors, can act as a stimulant or an inhibitor. In this study, dendrimer-conjugated dopamine was utilized as a chelating agent for Technetium-99m to investigate the organ distribution of this compound in vivo using the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) technique. For this purpose, dendrimers were synthesized using polyethylene glycol diacid and citric acid precursors, and dopamine was conjugated to the dendrimer using EDC/NHS cross-linker. The results showed no sign of toxicity of the dopamine-functionalized dendrimers on HEK-293 cell lines. The optimization of labeling conditions was conducted using the experimental design method (i.e., conjugate value, pH, and the amount of reducing agent), and then labeling efficiency was evaluated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Finally, the study of organ distribution in normal mice using SPECT imaging and comparing it with gene expression in different organs revealed that dopamine D1 receptors exhibited the highest accumulation in the liver and that the drug retained its specificity.

Chlorambucil-Chitosan Nano-Conjugate: An Efficient Agent Against Breast Cancer Targeted Therapy.

BACKGROUND: Discovering new chemotherapy drugs and techniques with the least side effects is one of the most important and challenging issues in recent years worldwide. Chlorambucil is an anticancer drug that is still commonly used as a primary treatment in treating some cancers, but it can cause side effects. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we decided to use chitosan as a carrier to enhance the uptake of chlorambucil and reduce the toxicity of this drug. METHODS: After producing this nanoconjugate compound and analysing its structure by FTIR, DLS and AFM analysis, we investigated the therapeutic and biological effects of this nanoconjugate compound on the MCF-7 cell line (breast cancer). RESULTS: The results of the MTT assay showed that this nanoconjugate compound not only retained its anticancer effect against chlorambucil but also showed less abnormal toxicity. In addition, in vitro cellular uptake by flow cytometry indicated the better uptake final product into the MCF-7 cells. The detection of apoptosis induced cell death was confirmed by RT-PCR. CONCLUSION: This study has created a prospective pathway for targeting cancer cells using chitosan.